Otherworldly
by Penryn
Summary: Rated for a reason. Contains violence and some generally not nice stuff to read. Give it a go, and review please.
1. chapter one

Okay folks, this story has a rating for a reason. This chapter is basically like an intro, setting the stage, all that jazz. So if you're sensitive to violence, you're safe for this ONE chapter. There, I think I've given you fair warning.  
  
Also, I will try to update as quickly as possible. Waiting periods drive me nuts, so I understand. I'm trying to explain the mental image I have as best as possible. Read/Review for the love of God! If you tell me nothing I'll spend all my time worrying about if I've lost everyone and spend very little on working on the next chapter. You dig?  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the Labyrinth or any characters from the Labyrinth. The chick is mine though, and more will come in following chapters.

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Jareth looked around his throne room at his loyal subjects. They danced about, laughing, joking, carousing; a genuinely happy group of goblins. He smiled to himself as he lounged in their presence, 'I'll stay with them for just a while longer.' Hoggle walked past him, and his thoughts went back to a girl from long ago, Sarah.  
  
He hadn't thought of Sarah for quite some time now. She was married now, had 2 kids, a reliable job at a legal office, a husband that wore a 3 piece suit to work; she had given up her dreams of acting and thoughts of the Labyrinth long ago. He wasn't surprised, that was usually what happened to almost everyone who left the Labyrinth. He could, if he tried, remember each individual, why they had come there and why they had left. They chose reality over fantasy, left their 'foolish fancies' for 'real life'. Oh, not everyone did. Some became authors, actors, musicians, artists... but the fact remained they chose to live in reality rather than the fantasy they had so desperately cried out for. Sarah did stick out in his memory though. Especially after she went off and told her tale of adventure through his Labyrinth to whomever that man was, who in turn made a movie from her memory. He had been furious at first, but it was her choice, and as long as the world took it for a mere work of fiction... well, what could he do about it anyhow? He thought to greet her a few times in some well-concocted dreams for retaliation, but he let it pass. Besides, he didn't have time to get too angry. After that movie had come out, his Labyrinth became quite a busy place, as more and more of these... fans... began to show a great interest in wishing. Properly wishing. It was almost more than he could handle, but it simply proved to be a great way of exercising his skills that went without much use during the times no humans had wished. Both the practice and eruption of humans he thanked Sarah for occasionally, in his own mind at least. Things had died down after a period, and while there was still a great deal more business conducted, he now at least had time to himself every now and again. Time to spend doing as HE pleased, rather than as others would like.  
  
He looked up at his clock, suspended in mid-air beside his throne. Not much time had passed by, but he couldn't help his impatience.  
  
"Is there any reason to suspect another any time soon?" he asked a goblin by his side.  
  
"Nothing that the watchers have reported as of yet, your Majesty," the bug- eyed, furry creature replied.  
  
Jareth turned back to the room, watching the goblins in their merriment, tapping his hand restlessly on his knee. "Well then... I think I shall retire for now." He got to his feet and tried not to move too hastily towards the archway at the side of the room. "I will be in my chambers if anything should happen," he said over his shoulder as he walked away.  
  
"Of course, your Majesty," the goblin answered, bowing to his back. The goblin smirked when he was out of sight.  
  
"What does he do in his chamber, Tibby?" a small, ferret-looking creature asked the first.  
  
"It is not our place to ask!" Tibby said indignantly, barely keeping down his smile.  
  
"You're right..." Silence between the two, each trying to maintain a straight face. "Oh come on!"  
  
"Nothing! Honest! He just stays in his room...with one of his crystals... watching someone's dreams..."  
  
"Ooooh. 'Someone', I see..."  
  
The two goblins giggled privately and joined in the raucous that was slowly migrating from the throne room, back to the Goblin City.

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Jareth kept his steady pace through the hallways, only quickening his step when he thought no one was watching him. He reached his private chambers, and stopped to listen. He could hear the party leaving the castle, and servants scuttling about as he slipped through the heavy wooden doors, closing them behind him. He walked across the room to gaze out the large window, down at the city. He looked proudly out at his kingdom, listening to the laughter and babble from below.  
  
Turning from the window, he walked over to the great fireplace and slumped down on one of the large, luxurious chairs, summoning up a small crystal. He stared through it, into the fire, and let it roll over his fingers skillfully. As he brought it back to it's original position, an image could be seen in the middle. He sighed, and felt his anxiety seep out of his body.  
  
In his orb was a young lady wearing a skirt of multiple thin layers, slit up the sides to let her legs dangle out, and a flowing sleeveless shirt to match. Her hair was a long and wavy dark auburn, falling down her back and over her shoulders. She sat on a suspended crescent moon, hugging to it with closed eyes. Jareth cocked his head to the side and grinned in spite of himself.  
  
'She looks so peaceful...' he thought to himself.  
  
The girl slowly opened her eyes, to reveal a deep violet color. Pushing herself up, she stretched out an arm into the star filled space that surrounded her as she sat on her moon. She pulled a finger through the air, and suddenly ripples appeared reflecting the moonlight, as if the air surrounding her were made of water. She smiled as she looked at the interruption she had caused. She hopped to the top of her small moon, and as she stood, Jareth half-expected she would be drenched by the invisible water she had summoned. But her spell left as she stood, and the space was nothing but air, and stars, and moon, and her. She stepped off her moon and Jareth's heart skipped a beat as he reached forward trying to keep her from falling into any danger. His hand met his crystal, and he blushed, looking around to make sure no one had witnessed his foolishness. He sat back, watching her as she fell elegantly and landed on what appeared to be a comet, which she clung to in a way similar to how one might ride a horse bare back. The comet whisked her round, through the air until she jumped from it to land on a platform. The platform connected to a wall like a stage, and the curious cosmos held it's audience... or was it that the stage held the audience to the cosmos?  
  
He smiled as he watched her dance around in her world. So many of the humans he came across after Sarah held the mental image of the Labyrinth from the movies to entertain their thoughts. So few of them held any true world of their own, and those that did, had a far less elaborate world or didn't realize the world was there at all. But this girl... she had a world of her own, and she knew it, and she managed to control it. Even if it was only her there, this world lived and thrived. He looked on as she held up a hand and a star floated down to her, as if hearing a silent command. As it rested in her hand, she kissed it, and the star opened into an entirely different scene. Now they were in a forest, and her clothes had changed into a leather jerkin, her hair pulled back into a braid. She ran through the forest, racing the wind. When she tired of this, she kissed her palm, and in her hand the star appeared again, and the world was back to the stage and the heavens.  
  
She fascinated him. He watched her for great lengths of time as stars opened new scenes, each one different from the last. Some with people, some with animals, some with no one at all. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself when one star opened up to the Labyrinth of the movie. He sat there transfixed, not noticing when anyone entered, or when servants set a tray of food on the table beside him. Definitely not seeing they're little smirks they tried to contain when they discovered him watching her yet again.  
  
He finally looked up when he heard noise coming from down below in the city. Staring out the window to find the night sky, he scolded himself for letting it go on for so long.  
  
"No, that's it! No more! Tomorrow you will NOT do this. You will NOT waste your time watching some girl daydream and dance around in her own mind. That is it!" he yelled, making the crystal disappear as a bubble might. He caught up his cloak and transported himself down to the city. 'These are your subjects. You are their ruler. Start doing your job and stop fantasizing. Fantasies are for humans,' he chided silently.  
  
"Your Majesty! To what do we owe the honor?" a goblin woman shouted from a window as he walked past.  
  
"Does a King need a reason to go anywhere in his kingdom? Perhaps I just wanted the lovely view," he replied, making the goblin laugh as he winked at her.

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Yes, slow start. So this is the part where you review... please? : / 


	2. chapter two

Okay, another warning, this story gets progressively violent. So look, rated R, if you can't handle it, why are you going into an R rated story? Hhmmmmm??? Oh yes... I don't own Labyrinth, in case you didn't catch that before ; )  
  
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Jareth stood regally on the balcony, looking down at the small boy standing in the square of the Goblin City surrounded by goblins. The boy looked around confused at the creatures around him, hearing the toll of the hour.  
  
"What? How... how did I get here?? I was... I was in a cave... where am I?" the boy yelled out bewildered.  
  
"Your time is up, Daniel," the king called out, just as the last chime rang out from the clock.  
  
The boy looked up at Jareth. He stood slack-jawed, never trying to run, or beg for more time. Jareth swept his cloak back majestically with one arm, stepping up onto the banister, and jumped the impossible distance. He landed in front of Daniel with the grace of a cat, bringing himself upright, smiling down at the shocked form before him.  
  
"Oh come now Daniel... you never really expected to beat the Labyrinth now did you," he said casually.  
  
"I... I thought... my mother..." Daniel stuttered. Suddenly he burst into tears, throwing himself at the Goblin King's feet. "Please! Please send me home! If my mother finds out I went anywhere she'll..." He quickly snapped his mouth shut, closing his eyes tightly. Jareth bent down and gently took the boy's chin in his hand.  
  
"You never expected to beat the Labyrinth... because you never wanted to."  
  
Daniel's eyes opened abruptly. All the fear and hurt in his face drained as he looked up at the king, flabbergasted. "No... I guess I didn't... But I love my mother! I swear I do! It's my fault she h—" Jareth silenced the boy's frantic rambling, placing a gloved hand securely over his mouth.  
  
"Never mind that. She will never find out Daniel, it's a promise." He took his hand back and a crystal appeared, balancing on the tips of his fingers. "What's done is done. You did not find the center in time Daniel. And so..." He tossed the crystal up in the air, and it floated down to burst as a bubble atop Daniel's upturned forehead. A wake from the bubble radiated outward transforming the boy from a frail-looking, small human into a dark green, scaled creature with a feline shaped face. "... You are now one of us. Welcome to my kingdom...?"  
  
"Cotall... my name is Cotall," he said absentmindedly as he looked over his arms and clothes.  
  
Jareth smiled and turned from the mesmerized goblin, striding proudly across the courtyard. He glanced over his shoulder to watch for a moment. The goblins all beamed at Cotall as they approached him. He looked around at them, not knowing exactly what was to be done now. A larger goblin stepped forward and placed a hand on Cotall's shoulder.  
  
"I am Limle, welcome to the Goblin City," he said as similar greetings echoed forth. "So... let's start some trouble!!" The crowd cheered loudly and Cotall was swept away with the other goblins as they dashed about.  
  
Jareth nodded with approval, and climbed the steps to the castle. 'Another satisfied customer,' he thought to himself as he walked through the halls. He passed by the throne room and heard a familiar voice call after him.  
  
"Your Majesty!"  
  
"Aaah Tibby, how can you be of service?" he asked flashing a quick smile as he continued walking.  
  
"The Watchers anticipate another guest, your Majesty."  
  
"Another?" He flashed a lingering look down the hall and sighed, turning back to the small goblin. "How soon do they say, Tibby?"  
  
"Oh... oh not anytime terribly soon," Tibby assured Jareth. "I'm sorry, I suppose you deserve a bit of private time."  
  
Jareth cocked his head to the side, looking over the small goblin. "Tibby... do you think I want to have some 'private time'?"  
  
"Well... don't you, sire?"  
  
"Perhaps I do, but what makes you say that is the question."  
  
"Oh well... you know... everyone needs a break every now and then. A little time to do as one would like," Tibby answered back diffidently.  
  
Jareth knelt down to look the small goblin in the face, an unreadable expression on his face. "And what is it I like to do?"  
  
"Oh your Majesty, how should I know that!" the creature laughed nervously.  
  
"Yes... well, I suppose this new guest would probably be Beth."  
  
"It is! How... how did you know?"  
  
"Tsk! The Watchers may be the ones who are always observing, but I know each of them perfectly well on my own. She's taken her time in thinking about it," Jareth spoke casually, straightening himself again, "but I knew she wouldn't be too much longer in coming to visit. Is that all?"  
  
Tibby nodded and Jareth turned back to the hall. The goblin watched him walk, calm and collected, all knowing. Suddenly Tibby's questions seized his own common sense and he ran after the king.  
  
"Your Majesty!"  
  
"Was there something else?" Jareth said as he continued strolling.  
  
"Yes your Majesty... well no... just more of a question is all."  
  
"Alright. What is the question?"  
  
"Will _she _ever come to visit?"  
  
Jareth stopped dead in his tracks, staring forward wide-eyed. He turned his stunned gaze to look at the small goblin shrinking back with dread. The small body staring up at him shook violently, but said nothing to take back his inquiry. The silence between the two hung heavy for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Jareth shook away his shock and gathered his breath.  
  
"No, Tibby. I don't imagine she ever will."  
  
"But..." he took a deep, quivering breath, "but the Watchers are still stationed to watch her. Why?"  
  
Jareth let a smile tweak the corner of his mouth. "Wishful thinking? Come along with me, Tibby," he commanded softly as he started his trek yet again, the small goblin following him obediently.

* * *

Jareth watched Tibby leave the room, closing the door behind him, and looked at the clock. 'Did our talk honestly go on for that long?' he wondered noticing that he'd somehow lost hours. He turned his attentions back to the crystal already in his hand, looking into it at the scene nestled inside. This was not the setting he was used to looking at though.  
  
In the crystal was the same girl, but greatly different from how she usually appeared. She was wearing baggy jeans and a sweater, sitting in the corner of what appeared to be a coffeehouse, writing in a notebook. Her long hair was pulled up into a messy bun, no smile played on her mouth, no sign of happiness, or anything else for that matter. The thick books surrounding her were opened to different pages, and her eyes flickered back and forth from each to her notebook. She rested her head on her hand, moving occasionally to sip from her cold drink. No one sat near her as she studied diligently, no one greeted her upon entering, and she noticed nothing but what lay on the table before her.  
  
'It's amazing how differently she acts in her actual life than in her world,' Jareth thought as he watched her. Even as blank and withdrawn as she appeared while in public, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her pencil stopped mid-sentence, and her eyes stared through the books in front of her. The picture in the crystal wavered and suddenly, she was sitting on her moon again, smiling gently. She hopped down and began to dance fluidly to a tune he could hear being hummed. She was humming. He closed his eyes and listened to the delicate, beautiful sound burning itself into his memory.  
  
The door opened and he heard a servant float across the floor to set a tray beside him, and exit just as swiftly. He opened his eyes to find the girl walking through a field of what looked almost like tall, golden, elephant grass. Her hands swept over the top of the grass as the wind made it sway this way and that.  
  
Sounds of shouting and other unruly noise blew in through his window. His goblins must still have been celebrating.  
  
Glancing to his side, he noticed the tray with its food and goblet of wine. Taking the silver cup in his hand, he watched the scene change back so the girl was once again dancing about her odd stage, in between thin, veil like curtains that had appeared. He noticed a strange door in the wall of the stage he hadn't noticed before, as he sipped his wine. The door looked old, incredibly old from how it appeared to be weathered, and obviously wasn't meant to be taken note of, since it was quite cleverly concealed behind an outer wall. The scene started to turn into what appeared to be a dance club, with thousands of lights and people, the girl looking beautiful in her closely cut black dress. He took a much larger swig from his cup as he watched her body move to the thumping music, smiling much more than he'd ever allow anyone to know.  
  
The sounds from the Goblin City could still be heard over all the music emitting from the crystal. 'Good lord, they do like to make a raucous.'  
  
Jareth poured himself more wine and gazed at the girl, swaying her body back and forth. 'Does she tease me like this on purpose?' he thought gulping the wine.  
  
The noise from outside started to grow louder, as he brought the crystal closer. He poured himself more wine.  
  
The flashing lights seemed to slow down her movements, as she ran her hand down her neck, down to her stomach and back up. He wiped sweat from his forehead. 'Am I sweating? It's no wonder with her dancing like _that_. It's even making me thirsty,' he thought, pouring himself more wine.  
  
He turned in his chair so he wasn't facing the window quite so directly, as the cries grew. He drank deeply from his cup, as the scene changed back to her stars. Just as suddenly, foliage started to grow from a different star.  
  
He poured himself more wine.  
  
She was running through woods with a pack of wolves...  
  
The noise outside grew.  
  
...jumping over rocks and dashing about with amazing agility...  
  
He finished another cup of wine.  
  
... at an impossible speed. The woods opened up into a clearing and the dusk...  
  
Shouts of many different kinds came from outside.  
  
... sky hung overhead. She looked around smiling as she slowed to a halt.  
  
He drank more wine.  
  
She closed her eyes and felt the breeze sweep up her long locks of hair.  
  
'Something is wrong.'  
  
Jareth felt strange. His vision blurred, then cleared. His head whirled as the sounds from outside beat against it. The sounds. Something was wrong about the sounds. He tried to listen but found it hard to concentrate. Screams rose up and the sounds of something breaking. Screams? Breaking?  
  
He let go of the crystal, and was shocked when he heard it hit the ground. 'Why didn't it disappear? What is going on?' he thought frantically. He stared at the orb, tried to focus on it. Nothing, the girl and the crystal remained. He leaned down to retrieve it, but found his head swimming with confusion and fell from his chair. He gripped the crystal in his hand as if it meant to pick him up and carry him to safety.  
  
The door opened, and Jareth could only turn his head enough to see a small party of boots approaching him in long strides.  
  
"I think the wine may have gone to your head... your _Majesty_," a voiced mocked him.  
  
Jareth clutched to crystal angrily, but slowly, he felt even his ability to be angry a terrible effort. He couldn't concentrate, the thought of using his magic didn't even occur to him anymore, although it still would have been useless. He was helpless...

* * *

The Goblin City was a mass of confusion. Goblins everywhere were running, screaming, trying frantically to get away from the tall figures chasing them through the streets. Every so often, another fire would be started, causing more turmoil. Creatures were being trampled, beaten back, tossed aside, or lay motionless. The Goblin City was utter chaos.  
  
Tibby cowered under some steps near the square, watching the scene in disbelief. He covered his ears, feeling as though the pitiful cries would drive him insane. He saw one of the attackers knocking over barrels and wagons, exposing hiding goblins. The goblins tried to flee as the attacker kicked and threw them, picked up wooden planks and started swinging erratically, laughing maliciously all the while. Tibby felt himself cringe, and tried to keep calm. His movement caught the eye of the brute, and his breath stuck in his throat as the figure moved quickly toward his hiding place.  
  
Tibby only had a second to try and back up before everything went still. The tall figure was no longer looking at him, the screams had died to whimpers, and not a soul moved. Inching forward, he peered out to look at the steps of the castle. Goblins were being herded into the square from all streets. He looked to see more of the intruders filing out of the castle doors. Dozens of them, all beautifully arrogant. They filled the steps with their bodies, as if it was a show of their station. Suddenly, a wave of gasps swept over the goblins.  
  
Jareth, his fists bound together, was half-led half-carried down to the center of the square. Two tall persons stood beside him, holding him up for everyone to see, as one stepped out from the company on the steps. He was easily as tall as Jareth, with black hair that shone silver in the light. His dark, narrow features seemed all the more intrusive put next to his large silver eyes. From his movements, it was easy to see he was the leader of this army. With his hands clasped behind his back, he circled round Jareth, inspecting the Goblin King who slumped over weakly.  
  
"This..." he motioned dismissively toward Jareth, "is the great Goblin King? The one you all follow so sheepishly. The great Jareth..." he suddenly burst out in laughter. Evil grins could be seen spreading throughout the trespassers.  
  
The man walked closer to Jareth, bending to him as if talking to a child. "You who were supposed to be the greatest ruler, of the greatest kingdom, in all of the worlds... you who were feared and revered everywhere, who could have had all worlds bowing before him... you... disgust me!!" The dark figure spat in the king's face. Jareth gave a weak flinch, making the man smile as he turned from him.  
  
He looked over the faces of the horrified goblins, beginning to circle again.  
  
"Your king... is a joke. He is a miserable and pathetic existence, and as such, he doesn't deserve a kingdom of any kind... even one infested by the likes of you. This kingdom... the Labyrinth is now mine," he closed, pulling a dagger from his belt.  
  
"NO!!!" a desperate voice rang out. The scaly goblin ran forward from the crowd, outreached hand trying to stop the dagger that was too far to reach. The two holding Jareth let him fall to his knees, grabbing the frantic goblin.  
  
"NO! STOP!! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!! STOP!! STO—" his pleas were cut short in one fluid movement. In a graceful dance, the dark man slid past the goblin, slicing through his throat. The creature lay crumpled on the paving stones, holding his neck in shock as his blood poured from the wound.  
  
A moment of speech came back to Jareth as he watched. "Co... Cotall..."  
  
Two steps were all it took for the dark man to be standing behind Jareth, looking down at him irate. He took Jareth's fair hair in his hand and pulled it back with a jerk. Looking around at the goblins, he dared another to step forward.  
  
"You will all do well to fear the name of Shandar."  
  
He brought the dagger down and sawed at the locks of hair, throwing them to the ground. Others were coming down from the steps, walking towards Jareth as he lay vulnerable on the ground. The two men picked him up again, displaying him. The group of intruders began ripping at his clothes, tearing them from his body, throwing them to the ground beside his hair.  
  
They scratched at him violently, exposed him, held him up for all to see.  
  
They spat at him, cursed him, mocked him.  
  
They reveled in his weakness, praised Shandar for pulling him down, threw him to the ground.  
  
More of them moved from the steps to the square, taking part in the humiliation. They began to strike him, kicking him and swinging at him with tremendous force. The goblins couldn't move; at any exit there was a tall figure to be found. They watched, crying, as their king was brutally beaten before their eyes.  
  
Tibby felt tears fall down his cheeks. He couldn't take his eyes from the place where the Goblin King lay. Jareth's eyes searched through the crowd, no longer reacting to what was happening to him. Tibby shivered when he met Jareth's stare, but he couldn't look away. There was something very important in the stare, something he was supposed to see, to understand. For some reason, his attention wanted to direct him to Jareth's hands. The two balled up fists, held tightly together by a leather cord. Suddenly, one of his fists released, and a small crystal rolled away from the scene. No one saw it, they were too preoccupied with their appalling idea of fun or with their sobbing to see a simple crystal roll down hill.  
  
Jareth obviously had no control over where it went, and Tibby realized he had only one chance as it rolled to the edge of a small alleyway. He darted out from under the steps, running as fast as he could along the wall, trying desperately not to draw attention. He dove at the crystal... and landed in front of a pair of boots, just inches shy of his target. He looked up, quivering, into a tall, hooded man.  
  
The face held no expression, taking in the goblin, before turning to what he had been diving at. A girl sat in a coffeehouse, packing her bag full of books. The hooded figure studied to girl in the crystal for no more than a minute, and then gave a brief look back at Tibby. The hooded man turned quickly and disappeared down the alley, never having said anything.  
  
Tibby breathed for the first time in an eternity, picking up the crystal. He looked into it to see the girl, fading out of the crystal. Lifting his eyes, he saw Jareth had finally succumbed to the cruelty of his captors, lying unconscious. He looked down the alley with concern, then back to the crystal.  
  
'I don't know why it didn't disappear... Jareth what am I supposed to do?' Tibby cried in his mind.  
  
Stuffing the crystal into his jacket, he scurried along the edge of the crowd, looking for any exit he could. Lifting a loose brick, he wasted no time in getting as far from the city as possible.  
  
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okay, now please review... pretty please? 


	3. chapter three

Okay, so the typing might throw you off. Anything in '' is a thought; anything in _italics_ is a memory, and for this particularly confusing chapter, )( mean daydreams.

Disclaimer: Labyrinth, not mine, but basically everything in this chapter besides that is.

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The girl sat on the old couch, picking at the lint quietly. Sitting across from her, the older woman was perfectly composed, pen at the ready against her clipboard, watching expectantly.

"Teagan?" the woman broke in finally. The girl glanced up and tilted her head inquisitively. "Did you hear the question?"

"… Not really, sorry," the girl replied sheepishly.

"That's okay. When was the last time you were in counseling before now?" the woman repeated calmly.

"_Happy birthday Teagan, you're growing up so fast… what would you like for your birthday?"_

"_Can I have anything?"_

"_Anything I can give you."_

"_I want to stay home… I don't want to have to go to therapy…"_

"Around the time I turned 11," the girl answered plainly.

"My, that was a few years ago. What made you stop?"

"_Please mommy… I don't want to anymore, I promise I'll be okay without it. I promise…"_

"Do you remember what it was?" the woman asked from behind her clipboard.

"_Please… it's… it's embarrassing, please mommy…"_

"Not really… it was a long time ago, sorry…" she murmured.

"That's alright," the woman assured her. She put the clipboard flat on her lap as she leaned forward in her chair. "Teagan… tell me, what is it that made you decide to come back into counseling?"

"My mother…"

"Yes, I know your mother suggested it. But you are an adult now, and you made the decision to come back on your own I think. She couldn't _make_ you."

"Well… I do live with her. She's my mom, and being an adult doesn't mean I stop listening to her."

"Hmm… That's a very mature way of looking at it. Do you think you have any ideas why she would suggest it?"

"I… I'm not sure really," the girl said to the floor.

"That's okay. Maybe we can figure it out… do you go out much?"

"No."

"Do you go out at all?"

"Well, I go to school…"

"That's good, school is very important. Do you ever go out otherwise? See friends, go to a movie, go out to eat…?"

"Sometimes…" she began, watching the woman nod her head coaxingly. "I go out sometimes to study, and get coffee. I go to movies, but I mostly just rent them." She looked at the woman, still leaning forward as if expecting more. "Uh… I go driving sometimes too…"

"Driving is good, it can be very relaxing. Where do you drive?"

"No where in particular… I like back roads mostly, very remote, not many people… I just like going somewhere…" she almost smiled thinking about it.

"And what do you think about when you go on these drives?"

)Crouching in the forest, hunting alongside her wolves, she watches silently, listening to every sound around her…(

"Teagan?"

"Nothing."

)…Their tension infecting her, she feels alive. The cool wind sends a chill up her spine, bringing the scent to her nostrils…(

"Nothing…" she repeated to herself dimly. Looking up quickly, she caught a half-glance of the pen scribbling on the notepad again. She winced inwardly, feeling ashamed of having such strange habits.

"Do you like to daydream, by any chance?"

"I guess I do sometimes... but doesn't everybody?"

"Sure, everyone daydreams. Occupies the mind when you're not getting enough stimulation, or that's what I've heard said. What do you think about when you're daydreaming?"

Teagan hesitated, not knowing how to answer. "How do you mean?"

"Well, what do you daydream about?" the woman replied in a casual tone.

)... The wolves by her side, standing at the ready. Her muscles tense, aching for use...(

"Nothing really big, what I learned in class, my homework, music... normal stuff."

"That's just thinking about your day though. I don't really think about my bills to relax myself. What do you think of to entertain yourself?"

)...Throwing her head back, she howls into the night, her own cry supported by the wolves from all around...(

"Movies... I replay movies in my head, think about music, stuff like that."

The woman kept her position, leaning forward, for a while longer. When Teagan didn't elaborate any further, she leaned back, jotted a note and gave the smallest of sighs. She looked up, speaking in a soft, easy manner. "How would you rate your social life?"

"I'm not sure... I'm satisfied with it."

"Do you do a lot of socializing?"

"Not a _lot_..." Teagan began studying the pattern on the couch.

"I see. Why do you think that is?"

"No reason, I just never really put any effort into it."

"Could that be in any way related to... what happened when you were a child?"

_ Pressure strangling her wrists, she could feel needles in her fingertips from the lack of moving blood..._

"Is that in my file?" Teagan asked quietly.

"Some of it is. The police reports, different interviews taken..." The woman waited for a moment, choosing her words with care. "I'd like to hear your side of the story... you can only tell so much from words on paper."

_ She was hiding in her closet, crying. She didn_'_t mean to come home early, she just didn_'_t have anywhere else to go. She tried her hardest not to make a sound, not to remind anyone that she was home. She could hear footsteps coming up the hall and she hastily wiped away her tears. _'_Maybe he won_'_t remember if he thinks I forgot._'_ Picking up her dolls, she pretended to be playing as the door to her closet opened._

"_Teagan?_"_ She didn_'_t look up but made a small sound in answer. _"_What you doing in here?_"

"_I_'_m just playing._"

_ The male figure crouched down beside her, and she tried to stop from trembling. _"_Can I play?_"_ He put a hand on her shoulder, and she suddenly felt like throwing up._

"_Daddy, I think I_'_m sick, I don_'_t feel so good._"

"_That_'_s okay baby, Daddy will help you. Let_'_s go to Daddy_'_s room, okay?_"_ He took her hand, and the slightest tug told her she couldn_'_t get away. _

'_No..._'

"Not much to tell really. I was pretty young, it's hard for me to remember..." Teagan said, emotionless.

"The report says that it went on for some time. You don't remember any of it?"

_ The pain was terrible. She was bleeding, crying, hurting so much... she couldn_'_t do anything. She wanted to yell out, but that would be bad. She wasn_'_t supposed to scream. She wasn_'_t even supposed to cry, but he didn_'_t seem to care if she did that anymore. So she sat as still as possible. If she didn_'_t move around a lot then it wasn_'_t as painful. She clasped her eyes shut. She tried thinking of something else, anything else..._

_ And she was no where. Standing on a black platform, looking out at nothing. Normally she was afraid of the dark, but this wasn_'_t really dark, it wasn_'_t really anything at all. She could hear panting in the background. She turned around and there was a door in the wall behind her. She hadn_'_t moved, hadn_'_t gone near it, but she knew that the door was locked. So she turned around and sat down dangling her legs over the edge. She looked to her side, and her dolls were there. She had known they would be. She played with her dolls, alone._

_ He gave her a bath afterwards. He always did that. Did the laundry, gave her a bath, and asked her how much she loved Mommy. Mommy loved her too, he would say. Mommy loves us both. Mommy would be so hurt if something were to break us apart that she_'_d go away forever. She didn_'_t want that. She didn_'_t want to be left behind, with Daddy._

"I hardly remember anything from it at all. I remember telling my mom after they got a divorce," Teagan offered.

"Hmm," the woman replied while her eyes studied Teagan. "Yes, well, you were rather young. I believe it said that you told them about everything when someone found you with the second offender. Is that how you remember it?"

"_Teagan, you and your mother_'_s volunteer work here has been such a help. I wish there was some way that we could repay you properly. You_'_re so young... I_'_m sure you_'_d rather be off on dates! Haha... well, you are such a pretty girl after all... but so quiet. You seem so lonely, it makes me sad. Can... can I speak with you later? There_'_s plenty of work to be done here, I_'_d ask your mother but she_'_s really so tired. Did you know she almost collapsed the other day? Perhaps it would be better for her to start staying home more... You can start coming alone. For your mother_'_s sake. You wouldn_'_t turn your back on us would you? Teagan?_"

"_I_'_ll try my best, Father Crowe._"

Teagan colored and felt her stomach turn. "After someone found us..."

"_Father Crowe? I_'_m sorry I left someth- wha... What is going on?! Oh my God... oh my God! This is _sick"

"Yeah..." Teagan felt like crying. Like vomiting. Like smothering herself with a couch pillow. Then she realized where she was again. 'I'm fine.'

"But that was a long time ago too. They went to jail, I went to therapy. I'm fine, I do well in school, I don't make myself an 'available object of prey', my mom and I don't fight. I'd say I'm doing pretty well, wouldn't you?"

Teagan found a spot on the floor to focus her eyes, and went into automatic-mode. She was doing this for her mom after all. She hated doing this. She didn't want those memories brought up. She nodded and answered simply and...

)...She was sitting on her moon, looking out at her stars.(

* * *

The hooded figure swept through the turmulent castle, rounding corners and taking side paths. He took long, brisk steps, keeping away any other tall strangers. He came to a slow halt down a small corridor, looking from side to side curiously. Extending his arms so his hands skimmed the walls to either side, he continued at a more careful speed until one hand fell into open space. He turned and walked forward, past where one would have expected the wall to be, turned again to his right, and found a small door. Crouching down, he squeezed through on his hands and knees before he could correct himself on the other side. He was looking down a stone spiral stairway, candles every so often to make the way not completely dark. Closing and securing the door, he hurried down the stairs, taking two or three at a time. He travelled down for what seemed like a good while, when the stairs ended upbruptly against a large, heavy looking door. 

Cautiously, he gripped the handle and gave a slow steady pull. Nothing. He bent down low next to what appeared to be a strange keyhole, and whispered into it. Standing once more, he gripped the handle and yanked hard. The door opened easily, pouring light into the hallway beyond, blinding and confusing the goblins there. He stepped forward as they stood stupified and looked down the long hall. It didn't appear to end, just a plain poorly lit corridor with bare wall on one side, enormous looking glasses reaching from ceiling to floor lining the other wall, and a goblin placed before each, watching.

He looked into the first, and instead of finding his own reflection, found that young boy studying. He stepped down the hall. The next showed a small girl in a poorly furnished dwelling, playing with old toys. The next a girl fixing her hair. He kept on. A boy washing his hands in a restroom. A couple of girls giggling outside a building. His pace quickened. A boy. A boy. A young girl, blonde. A boy. A slightly older girl, black. A boy. A boy. A girl, short hair. He was running, ignoring the goblins that were starting to realize he was an intruder. He passed them even as they tried to run away. A boy. A girl, brunette, too young. A boy.

* * *

Teagan was rocking with the motion of the bus. She was looking at her reflection staring blankly back at her. She could see everyone through the reflection, and it didn't look like she was watching them. She could see the old woman gripping her oversized bag, the guy with sunglasses listening to headphones. Her gaze turned to the outside for a moment and caught a group of young people, walking together and laughing. The girls looked very pretty, like they knew they were pretty, one held hands with a boy as they walked. 

)She walked down the street with her friends, holding her boyfriend's hand. He slipped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close to kiss the corner of her mouth. The group of them were going over to someone's house cause their parents were out of town. She was looking forward to being alone with her boyfriend. She may even let him get a little further than usual... further...(

"_It hurts..._"

She shook her head suddenly to stop her line of thought. Blinking hard, she felt so humiliated, she felt stupid. She hated herself.

)She sat on her moon, and clung to it like the moon were a life-preserver. Looking up timidly she summoned a star that opened to a fantastical grand hallway. She was sitting on the dais, next to the king and queen. They had grown so fond of her, they had discovered the hidden beauty within her, and adopted her. They told her she deserved more than even they could give her. She was admired. She was famous. She was loved. They would find her the most noble of men to choose from, for they all were so in love with her. She was important. A gem. The heart of the kingdom.(

She smiled to herself as the bus rolled on.

* * *

The tall stranger was running so fast he was now among the goblins who didn't even know he had entered. They stared into the looking glasses, not moving, just watching and listening. 

...boy boy boy boy girl, no boy girl, no girl, no girl, no boy boy girl, no girl, no girl, no boy girl, no...

* * *

Teagan walked through the front door. 

"Hey Teagan, you hungry? Dinner should be done in a little while," her mother called out cheerfully.

"Cool, smells good."

Her mother turned and leaned against the stove. "So...? How did it go?"

Teagan shrugged. "Okay I guess."

"Okay? What did you guys talk about?"

"Not much. She asked questions, I answered. You remember what it's like, don't you? You had to go too for a while."

Her mother stared at her for a moment. "Do you feel any better?"

"Better than what? I mean, I didn't feel bad, Mom. So now... I feel hungry," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Her mother sighed. She stepped forward and hugged Teagan, petting her hair softly. "I just worry about you, sweetie. I worry that you're not doing as well as you think you are. Or maybe you don't think you are. I don't know... I just wish I could help. I wish I could take it all away."

Teagan felt her throat get tight and her eyes mist. 'No. I'm fine. I'm just fine. Don't feel bad, Mom. I'm fine.' She fought for control over herself, clearing her throat. "Kgh... sorry. Thanks. I'm gonna go study for a bit before dinner."

"Okay, I'll knock when it's ready." Her mother smiled gently and turned back to the cooking.

* * *

...no no no no no no no no no no no no no no n... 

The figure almost skidded to a halt. In the looking glass, a girl was closing a door behind her. Her hair was in a ponytail, but it appeared to be long enough. She seemed the right build. His gaze flickered quickly down where he had run. The mirrors were winking out further down. She turned her head, he saw her face, he was sure. He dove through.

* * *

Teagan was sitting on her bed when she heard something. Her head shot up to look at her closed closet door, but found a tall person standing in the middle of her room, breathing fast, wearing among other strange garments, a cloak with its hood drawn. Her mind blanked in confusion, and her first instinct took command of her body. She lunged for the door. The man quickly took hold of her, preventing any escape. 

"No! Let me go!" Her struggles only seemed to inconvenience him as he pulled her across the floor.

"Mo-" Her scream was cut off by his hand. She could hear her mother calling to her from the kitchen. 'This can't be happening... NO!' She bit down and try to elbow him, wrestle her arms free, anything. He held her in front of the mirror that hung on her closet door. She looked over her shoulder, up into his hood, catching a glimpse of his face as she struggled. His grip tighted as they stood before the mirror, and he stooped to her ear.

"Find Jareth." And he threw her at the glass. The shards flew all around her, but she never hit the closet door.

----------------------------------------

HI SHAWNA OMG I TOTALLY UPDATED FTW :P

oh... review?


	4. chapter four

Alright then, another chapter. First, a warning (and not about content). My computer decided to eat up and spit out Microsoft Word, so I've been reduced to used WordPad. The frustration is great for many reason, but a main one being spellcheck. Nooo spellcheck. I've tried to be VERY VERY careful, but I'm only human on my good days.

Second, a big THANK YOU to lounging-pixie for leaving a comment, you is now on my A List :D

Hope everyone likes dialog, cause there's a little bit in this one!

oh yeah... the Labyrinth and Jareth are definately not mine, don't sue me, I'm already in debt.

--------------------------

Teagan's disorientation didn't last long. Her eyes were still squeezed shut, but she now registered that she was sitting on a cold hard floor, her hands braced against a stone wall. Her closet wasn't stone. And she had fallen further than her closet would have let her. She opened her eyes, and turned.

There was no one around. She was in a strange hall, with what looked like large gilded mirrors lining one wall. But the mirrors were... different somehow. They seemed darker than they should have. Looking further down the hall, she saw mirrors that seemed to be lit up, but they all appeared to be going out. And straight ahead of her she could see the stone wall through a gilded frame with a few jagged pieces still clinging on. Mirror shards were all around her on the floor, tiny flecks sparkled up at her from her arms. She shook her hair out, softly brushed her skin clean, and climbed to her feet.

The corridor was eerie, beyond the fact that it was not the closet she had expected to land in. She listened for voices, footsteps, breathing, wind. Nothing. She was alone. The urge to yell out suddenly became incredible, but she resisted. 'It's obviously empty, what's the point.'

She turned in the direction she'd seen the illuminated mirrors, and began walking. She kept a slow and steady pace, listening for any other steps, anyone who might be around. Anyone who might be following her. 'Paranoid...' But the thought sent chills. Someone obviously tried to kidnap her... but... since she didn't know where she was, did that mean they succeeded? She didn't think that much time had passed from when she was thrown to when she opened her eyes. Had she been taken? That would mean someone would be trying to find her. Someone she didn't want finding her.

She started jogging down the hall. She didn't see any doors or an ending to the hallway, and if someone were to be looking for her, they'd probably know a lot better than she the ins and outs of where she was. 'They might be here already.' She was running. She tried to keep her breathing controlled, tried to keep herself calm, but she couldn't help feeling vulnerable. Like she was right in the middle of something very bad. She was almost at a sprint now, goosebumps down her arms and breathing heavily. Out of the corner of her eye, something about the space between the mirrors suddenly seemed wrong. She jumped to a stop and hopped backward, staring at the stones. She compared the gaps to the right and left to the one directly in front of her. She couldn't explain it, it looked like everything else, but it was wrong, She tilted her head, trying to concentrate, but her gaze slipped oddly over the stones. She reached forward, and her hands found a sloping surface. The higher she reached, the more level, the lower she reached and the wall would gently bend inward. A crawl space.

She heard something down the hall. It sounded like it was miles away, so far away she couldn't even decide what it was, but it meant someone else was there too. Help wasn't even a hope in her mind, and panic took over. She quickly got to her knees and crawled into the small tunnel. It turned for a long time until she felt it begin to decline. There were no lights of any kind here, but the tunnel itself seemed to radiate a dull light, just enough to see a few feet. She scrambled forward, hoping no one else found her escape route as well. The walls were so close to her that her breathing sounded magnified in her ears. She tried to slow it to a soft inhale, prayed no one heard, even held her breathe. It was starting to become too much. She didn't know who she was running from, where she was running to, how she would get there, what she would achieve by going there, and then she still didn't know where _there_ was. The walls all around her felt stifling, and it kept at the steady decent, and her breathing was driving her mad.

The tunnel opened suddenly into a vast chamber. Or... she thought it was a chamber. The walls here didn't radiate any light, if there were even walls. Everything was simply black, except for the solitary ladder in the middle of it all. It went up into the black nothing. She glanced back down the small tunnel, tried to squint hard enough to see the walls of the room. 'No other choice.' She climbed.

'I don't understand,' she thought as she rose higher from the ground. 'What the hell is going on? What's with this weird place? Is this someone's idea of a joke? Or some psycho who gets off from landing people in the middle of some crazy wonderland? Who the hell was that guy?'

_"Find Jareth."_

Her brow furrowed. 'I heard him wrong.' Her arms and legs were starting to stiffen. 'First I have to crawl to the center of the Earth, then climb into outer space. At least it's a good bet that no one will follow.' She smiled nervously to herself, listening more intently to any possible sounds of pursuit. Her hands gripped the bars, securing her to the ladder as she went higher. She kept her eyes up, looking for an end. After a long while, she stopped with her face mere inches from a stone ceiling. 'You're kidding...'

She looked down and around but found nothing besides empty space and the stones above her. She reached up, disbelieving the stones were really there, but the cold surface assured her. She could feel tears of frustration and fear welling up, and her throat filled with that awful tightness. She stared at the stones, her hand flat against them, and pushed in defiant disbelief. The stone gave way so easily she almost lost her balance. 'It was that... easy?'

She pushed the large stone aside and climbed through the small space opened to her. Another tunnel to crawl through, but she could see the end, and she sighed with relief. As she replaced the stone, she suddenly felt slightly off-kilter. She moved forward the few feet to another wall, and gave a small push, but she couldn't shake the feeling. It felt like her equilibrium was off, or she'd suddenly had a rush of blood to the brain, very dizzy and disorienting. The stone fell inward, and she put her head out to see... the ground perpendicular to her. 'What? Is this right?'

On her hands and knees still, her head the only part outside now, she was looking straight forward at the ground completely vertical to her position. Not only that, she looked in all other directions to find nothing. She was sitting somewhere that didn't exist. Her stomach lurched, and she pulled her head back in taking deep breaths with closed eyes. 'Alright... it's okay... hell, this whole place is unreal. None of it should logically exist... so why not a door out of nowhere...' She turned her feet to the hole, and inched forward till the gravity of one place became more powerful than the gravity of the last, and she fell out, landing crumpled on the ground. Quickly recovering, she back against the nearest wall, looking to see if anyone was around, then looked up. Nothing was there. She gave herself a small laugh. 'I've finally lost it.' And she began walking.

* * *

Inside the castle, there were no sounds of small feet scurrying about. No lazy goblins, sitting around and babbling to each other. No sounds of celebration, rowdy interactions, childish antics, laughter, or satisfied sighs. The air in the castle was now thick, the dark places in corners seemed larger somehow, the emptiness was acute. But that did not mean that the castle was empty, or that there were no more sounds. Clicking of boots, marching determinedly down the hall, slowed to turn and enter a room. The throne room. Even though people were now in it, it still felt lifeless and deserted. 

"Lord Shandar, the castle has been successfully purged of all former inhabitants," one tall man said as the small group entered. The man with black hair and sharp features payed little attention. He was looking around the room, examining it with a sneer. "We were able to round up a large part of the population of the Labyrinth right away from the square earlier."

"'A large part' does not mean all of them. How much longer before the rest are found?" Shandar ran a finger down the arm of the throne. When an answer was not immediately provided, he turned and fixed the man with a stare. "How _long_, Collis?"

"It is hard to determine, sir."

"Why should that be? Is it that difficult to deal with a few powerless creatures?"

"Sir, it is not the creatures themselves that pose the problem-"

"Then what _is_ the problem?" Shandar cut in, crossing the room towards the man reporting.

"We don't know how many there are, sir. We've searched for records, but none seem to exist. As well as the fact that... we are unfamiliar with the surroundings. Hiding places, secret ways and the such are hard to discover, let alone follow."

"Have you considered a map?" asked one of the men who had escorted Shandar into the room.

"We'd gladly use one, if you could _find _one," the man replied sardonically.

"Well then, perhaps the maps are goblins themselves, and in one of those 'wonderous' hiding places you seem to find so hard to discern. Have you even checked a desk or drawers?" the escort scoffed.

"That is enough! There are no maps, they'd be useless before the ink could dry." The first man smirked at the glaring escort. Shandar tapped the tip of his nose, concentrating. "Be that as it may, the goblins must be found and dealt with. You and your men will simply have to search more vigorously since there will be no shortcuts provided."

"And are we to take them captive?"

"Deal with them as you find them. Captives could prove useful. But they only need be alive and able to speak," Shandar smirked. He was now walking about the room again, approaching a strange clock. Looking into his reflection in the glass, he realized Collis had not left. "Is there something else?"

"...Yes, sir," he hesitated. Shandar turned, curious. "During the examination of the castle we managed to find... a strange sort of hallway..."

"There are plenty to be had, I assure you."

"Yes, sir, but this one was rather well hidden. It took us some time to discover it, and we found something slightly bizarre."

Shandar's brow began to draw down. "What?"

"It was filled with looking-glasses. After travelling the hallway for some time, we found one broken, but it had been broken outward."

"Are you suggesting something entered?"

"Through the mirror, that is what I believe, sir."

Shandar was silent for a few minutes as he paced. "I'll think on this. In the meantime, continue with your searching, and if you happen across anything strange... perhaps I should say 'out of place', report it to me."

"As you command, Lord Shandar."

The man bowed low, and left. Shandar still appeared to be thinking about the mirror, and possible intruder. 'I need to know what it is, I cannot risk mistakes.' He turned to the men that had accompanied him through the castle and waved their dismissal before leaving the throne room at a determined pace. He travelled quickly through the halls, until he found where he was going. 'Jareth's chambers... no, _my_ chambers.' He closed the door behind him and walked to the window, watching the army he had brought with him scouring the town as the sun began it's descent from the sky. He knew that there were more searching further out into the Labyrinth.

"It will not be swift," came a voice behind him. He waited for the shock to fade from his face before turning to his visitor.

"Qristoff."

"Shandar." The man voice was flat and direct. He was not speaking down, or hiding anything. He never did. He stood poised; perfect stance clasping his hands behind his back, his champagne blonde hair hanging down to partially conceal his aquatic eyes, but always kept short enough to not be considered overly frivilous.

"_Lord_ Shandar, now," he corrected, smirking.

"Not quite yet."

Shandar flexed the hand at his side, but managed to appear otherwise calm and collected. "If you were anyone else, Qristoff, I might take that as a challenge."

Qristoff didn't move, or make an attempt to confirm or deny the accusation. 'How aggravating his reserve is.' Shandar sighed visibly, and took a seat next to the large fireplace.

"Of course, I know you better than that. You must forgive my rudeness, I have had much on my mind in this recent past. Do sit with me," he said silkily, motioning to the chair opposite him. Qristoff glided forward and took the seat offered, his composure never faultering, right down to his strong posture. Shandar was smirking again. "And I am sure you are right. The purging of the Labyrinth will be a great effort. Do you know of any records concerning population of the Labyrinth, by chance?"

"There are none."

"But you have told me Jareth has extensive information about his kingdom and the inhabitants."

"He does, but never put that information to parchment."

"Well... that _is_ rather annoying. But now that Jareth is out of the way, we may take our time."

Qristoff watched, seeming to think this through before retorting. "Jareth is not out of the way."

Shandar quirked his head. "Beg your pardon? Then whom is it that we are holding?"

"Jareth."

Shandar's mouth thinned. "You know something."

"Yes."

"Then tell me."

"Ask me what you want to know."

"Why is Jareth not out of the way?"

"Jareth is connected to the Labyrinth. That is how he can rule it."

"How do I break the connection?"

"You cannot."

"Then how is it broken?"

"Jareth must relinquish control, at which time you would need to establish your own connection."

"So if he were to die, would that-"

"You cannot kill him."

Shandar barked a laugh. "Why is that?"

"The connection is protection for himself, as well as for the Labyrinth. He must volunteerily give up control before another can take over, as well as before he can die."

"But we have him cut off from anything. Does this have no effect?"

"It... should cause a reaction."

"Of what kind?"

"I am not sure."

Shandar leaned back in his chair. "Then we will have to make him want to surrender control. No easy feat... So, Qristoff, while we are disclosing information, is there anything else I should know?"

"Yes."

"Yes..? Go on," he prompted.

"Ask me what you want to know," the fair man repeated.

Shandar's hands clasped hard on the arms of his chair as he forced himself against the high back. "This would all be so much easier if you were to openly support me."

"I cannot."

Raking his hand through his black hair, Shandar groaned. "Do explain it again, my mind faulters when I'm so exasperated. I under_stand_ that Jareth is your cousin. I under_stand_ it would be frowned upon-"

"Shandar, Jareth is a member of my family. Years ago, I obtained my own rule. I had to go through quite a trial to secure that, and I do not desire to abandon it for this. In my family, it is not looked down upon to contrive against or take something from another relation, as long as it is kept within the family. The family as a whole still benefits, despite the quarrelling between the individual families that remains. In helping you, an _outsider_, I would have brought down the situation of those with whom I have an everlasting connection. By standing apart, I retain honor within my family, and gain personally through being allied with the new ruler of the Labyrinth. I stand by my decision. I will not actively side with you nor him. I will not aid you, but I will inform you. The difference being, I cannot _offer_ you information, but I can answer any questions you may have."

Shandar massaged his temples. "I still only half understand how your family has not killed one another up till now."

"Patience."

Shandar gave a tired smile, leaning his chin on his hand. "Yes, I suppose you must have a great deal of patience to have been nurtured with such inner edicts." His gaze lost some of it's mirth for a split second. "There is still one thing I fail to understand. If there are such rules within your family, so much bylaw to keep power there in, why would you ever welcome friends and allies that side against your relations? How am I to believe your heart is not behind your cousin?"

"'One cannot _choose_ their family members'."

Shandar smiled broadly, satisfied again. "'But one has a choice in friends.' You are a good friend to have then, Qristoff. Well now... what to ask..." He looked at his cool and collected guest, tapping his finger to his lips. "Alright, do you know of the hallway filled with mirrors?"

"I do."

"What is it for?"

"It is Jareth's way of monitoring humans. He has a special team of goblins that are stationed there at all times, watching those that have the potential... and are _likely_ to wish properly. The humans are watched through reflections."

"Is that where the humans enter into the Labyrinth?"

"No."

"Is it possible for one of the humans to notice these goblins on the other side of their reflections?"

"No."

Shandar twirls a lock of his hair as he thought quietly. "How do humans enter into the Labyrinth?"

"They must wish properly. When this occurs, Jareth will usually collect them himself."

"And he would use his magic to bring them in, yes..." Shandar muttered to himself, leaning his elbows onto his knees. "Could a human wish themselves into the Labyrinth now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"A true wish creates the bridge between one world and another, but there must be someone from the other side to complete it. That is how it works with the human world, since there is no physical magic there."

"Can goblins do magic?"

"No."

Shandar studied Qristoff's face. 'There's something more...' His guest sat silently, keeping eye contact. "Is there any way Jareth could have brought someone in after the invasion began? A kind of defense mechanism..?"

"No. Someone with magic must aid a human in entry."

"...Is... Is it possible to bring someone into the Labyrinth without them having wished it?"

Qristoff tilted his head slightly for the first time. "Yes."

'This is what you wanted me to ask, I'm getting somewhere now.' Shandar leaned in further. "Did Jareth ever do this?"

"No."

"Did anyone wish themselves here just before the invasion?"

"No."

"Are there _any_ humans in the Labyrinth right now?"

Qristoff almost smiled. "Yes."

Shandar slumped back in his chair. 'I knew it, that's all it could have been...' he thought for a moment. "If Jareth did not bring them in, and his little minions cannot do magic, then who brought in a human?"

"Someone else."

"Well that's hardly helpful, Qristoff," the darker man rolled his eyes. "Then there is at least one from my numbers that I have chosen poorly in trusting..."

"So it would seem."

Shandar sat up suddenly. "Qristoff... is there any way you would be able to find who was brought in?"

"I cannot help you in-"

"I know you cannot help me in openly vanquishing your cousin and all of that, but this has nothing to do with that. It would be... a favor, to a friend... I know your magic ability is far beyond mine, far beyond most in fact. Is there no way?"

Qristoff sat for a long time thinking, before looking up again. "Would you show me where they are meant to have entered from?"

"At once, I shall have Collis summoned to show the way.

"I should not be seen-"

"Of course not, you may wear my own cloak," Shandar assured, immediately jumping to his feet to retrieve the garment.

In a matter of minutes, they were travelling through the castle corridors, Collis leading the way well ahead of Shandar and his shrouded guest. They were brought down to the door of the hallway they'd been looking for.

"It is quite a ways down, but there are no turns to lose your way," Collis assured them, bowing low as the lords walked past.

"Very good, you may carry on with your duties now," Shandar casually replied.

The pair walked down the neverending hallway, keeping a brisk pace, until they found the shattered mirror they were looking for. Qristoff knelt next to the shards on the ground, studied their position, looked at the frame on the wall, then back to the broken pieces. He held his hand up over the glass, let it hover low. Then he picked up a single shard and held it close to his face.

"Well?" asked Shandar.

Qristoff glanced over his shoulder.

"Are you able to find who came through?"

"Do you mean their identity or their location?"

"Either."

"Both, to a degree."

"Then _tell _me! Who came through?"

Qristoff stayed in his crouching position, appearing to try and puzzle something out of the broken glass. He held his hand out once more, focusing. The shards began to shift, sliding closer together like magnets, a dull glow beginning to shine until they formed a ragged looking-glass there on the ground. Inside, the image of a young girl, wearing layers of shirts, slightly baggy khaki pants, and strange shoes. Her auburn hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and she looked confused and worried, keeping close to the wall as she walked through the bronze light of the fading sun. The two men stood next to the looking-glass, watching the image walk aimlessly.

"Who is she?" Shandar muttered to himself.

"Jareth's 'little secret'."

Shandar's head shot up in surprise. "What? You know who she is?"

"Yes, she is his hobby. How he passes time. He watches her when he is alone."

"Her? Is she human?"

"Yes."

"And he simply watches her... for what reason?"

Qristoff's face remained calm, and his voice as steady as ever. "Because he is obsessed with her."

Shandar looked startled. "How do you know that?"

"Goblins talk."

He looked back to the girl. 'She is nothing special from what I can see. Less that pretty even. She's too pale. She has circles under her eyes. Her hair would be tolerable if it were cleaner. She's filthy, look how the dirt simply clings. Our kind are beautiful beyond compare... why spend your time watching some repulsive little wretch... And humans are so shortlived, far too frail.' The more he looked at the girl, the more she offended him. His lip unconsciously began to curl. 'Her posture is absolutely deplorable. She can barely keep from stepping on her own feet. She is clumsy. She is crude. She is nothing to one of us. She is nothing to-'

In his mind came a flash of flowing jet black hair, soft flawless skin, large silver eyes...

"Where is she?" he asked with a hard edge to his voice.

"I do not know. She could be any number of places."

"You cannot use this thing to find her location?"

"This mirror was last set to follow her through reflections. Being that she physically entered through it, she left a physical trace of herself with it. It is no longer following her in reflections, it is following her in the Labyrinth."

"It does me no good to see where she is and still not know the location." He began to circle the glowing shards, his finger pressed to his lips again. Suddenly, he paused, looking forward into nothing. His eyes began to glow delightedly, as the corners of his mouth turned up.

"This will follow her through the Labyrinth?"

"Yes."

Shandar bent down next to the glass, both his hands stretched over the image of the girl, and closed his eyes. The broken pieces began twitching again, but he kept his eyes shut, his brow creased with concentration. Qristoff watched in silence as the shards began to melt into each other, taking on a look of a small puddle of light. It began to swirl, and climb up into the air until it became a spinning sphere, suspended in midair. The surface began to harden, from a rippled liquid back to smooth glass. Shandar opened his eyes and plucked the orb from the air, smiling at it. He held it out to Qristoff, looking satisfied, and wiping the beginning of sweat from his brow.

"Looks a great deal like one of Jareth's crystals, do you not agree?"

Qristoff quirked his head slightly to one side and nodded.

* * *

Jareth sat in complete darkness. The stones beneath him felt cold against his naked skin. His head pounded, but his body screamed. He had already attempted to use his magic, but nothing seemed to work. He did not feel sedated anymore, so he knew whatever drug had began this was not the cause now. And so, he sat against a wall, waiting for his next 'visitor' to come and induce another bout of pain. 

Faces flooded into his memory. His goblins looking to him, imploring him, heartbreaking expressions... he had never seen a goblin cry before. 'It shouldn't be possible. There should never be reason for them to cry. I meant to protect them...' He tried not to think of what they would surely go through. 'I must escape. Staying here is _not_ an option, I have no choice but to break free.'

A door appeared in the black that surrounded him. Light poured through the opening, blinding him, as a figure stepped forward. Jareth didn't make a move, looking through the light to the shadow approaching, seeming unconcerned. The door remained open, giving the visitor the visibility he needed. The figure stopped directly in the middle of the cell, and looked around.

"Do you care for your new dwelling, your _Majesty_?" came the taunting voice. Jareth didn't respond. "Well perhaps you would feel a little more flattered if you heard that a number of us spent an extraordinary amount of time making sure it was _just right_ for you."

Jareth didn't have to see the smirk to know it was there. He had seen it a number of times before. 'So when he enters, the door will stay open...' Jareth silently plotted.

"I imagine you have already found the special feature we included, just for you." He felt the walls. "A sort of neutralizing enchantment, in case you were wondering. Took quite a while to puzzle it out, but once we had it within our ability to perform, we knew it would make the perfect present for you. I imagine you have already tried it out?" He was circling closer to Jareth. "In case you have not, let me explain it to you. No magic can be done in this room. We all know far too well that in terms of magical ability, you are one of the most powerful beings that is said to exist. We could not have you simply wiping away all our hard work."

'You'd be the fool I know you are to underestimate me physically as well,' Jareth thought, staring forward.

A short laugh echoed off the walls. "What? No witty remarks? No snide comments? No gratitude for such thoughtfulness on our part?" Shandar stepped closer. "Do you know... I am quite enjoying myself, Jareth. Your little goblins? What a joke... they're vile. Obviously creations of a warped and sad mind. You are pathetic."

Shandar's hand shot across Jareth's face, making a loud -_crack_-. Jareth did not react. "What is the matter? Can you not defend yourself? -_Crack_- Do you think you are above retaliation? Think you are better than resorting to physical quarrels?" -_Crack_- "Or do you accept how weak you are?" -_CRACK_- And Jareth licked the blood from his freshly split lip. Shandar shook his head. "How far you have fallen, Goblin King."

Jareth smirked inwardly. 'Still the same. Don't react and he is infuriated. Ever the simpleton, Shandar. All I need do is stay calm to retaliate.'

Shandar leaned forward, his lips almost touching Jareth's ear.

"Do you know what I'm going to do?" he whispered. "Can you guess? I'm sure you can imagine... you and I... we used to be so similar..." He gently grazed Jareth's swollen cheek with his fingers. "We used to have such fun... we were schooled together. But you changed." Shandar took Jareth's face in a hard grip and slammed his head back against the wall. "You used to be beautiful. You were admired. Revered. People _still_ speak of you as if you were some god... Not anymore Jareth. You will blind people with your radiance no more. We will expose you for the fake you are. The worthless, powerless, arrogant, spoiled worm. You have always had it easy. Always! But you... you are worse than filth! There are no words for what you are..."

Shandar dug his nails into Jareth's skin until he saw the blood begin to pool around his fingertips. Giving Jareth's head a final shove against the rough stone, he stood and glided back across the floor. Jareth looked up at the retreating form. 'That wasn't so back.' But Shandar stopped again.

"Oh do not think me completely heartless," he called back. He turned to the battered man on the floor, and gave an unsettling smile. "Here, I have brought you a present."

From beneath the folds of his coat, he produced a glowing orb. Jareth, caught off-guard, couldn't stop his eyes from widening in surprise when he saw the image the orb held. Shandar smiled maliciously.

"Yes... I believe you know her..." he said nonchalant. He stepped closer to Jareth again, and put on a mock expression of shock. "But did you know... that she's _here_? Indeed! How unfortunate for her... that her visit should be during such a tumultuous time." Shandar had now put on an exaggerated face of pity. "But here, I thought you may want some company in your lonely room. After all, you might be afraid of the dark..." His face became a cold stare again.

"I know that you love to watch her... so here." He placed the orb in the center of the chamber and walked back to the open door. "Watch her. Watch her wonder aimlessly through _your_ Labyrinth. Watch her waste away, lost and alone, never knowing why she is here. Watch her lose what sanity she may have. Watch her die, Jareth. Watch her die, in _your_ Labyrinth, at _my_ hands."

Shandar closed the door, and the blackness returned to Jareth's cell, except for the light from the ball. Jareth stare at the glowing sphere, disbelieving what he had heard. 'She's... no, no it's impossible. How could she... how would he know...' He scrambled forward and seized the glass ball in his hand. There she was, walking alone, looking this way and that, taking turns and visibly trying to puzzle out a direction to follow. Jareth's hand squeezed, as an anger began to climb through him. He threw the orb against a wall, but it ricoched off, making a delicate -_tink_- sound as it bounced on the ground. Jareth grabbed what was left of his mutilated hair in frustration, and ground his teeth. After several minutes, he slumped to the ground, sighing to himself. A few feet from him lay the glowing ball.

Finally, he reached out and retrieved the orb, leaned back against a wall, and watched the image of a confused girl travelling alone through an impossible maze.

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I can see how many times this story is viewed... surely more than one person can review... o.O


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